The Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located along the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, at the point where it meets

Neabsco Creek Neabsco Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the lower tidal segment of the Potomac River in eastern Prince William County, Virginia. T ...

. The of

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...

has been administered by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

since 1970; currently, it is part of the Potomac River National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuge covers

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s, and has a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

bordering its western edge. It is currently accessible only by boat,https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Featherstone/visit/plan_your_visit.html but has been considered as a possible portion of the route for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

References

Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge Website
1970 establishments in Virginia National Wildlife Refuges in Virginia Protected areas of Prince William County, Virginia Protected areas established in 1970 Wetlands of Virginia Landforms of Prince William County, Virginia Woodbridge, Virginia {{PrinceWilliamCountyVA-geo-stub